UF survey: Food safety among the biggest concerns for most Floridians

Published: Monday, January 6, 2014 at 9:48 p.m.

Last Modified: Monday, January 6, 2014 at 9:48 p.m.

Food safety is a big concern for most Floridians, a recent survey conducted by the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences shows — third behind the economy and health care.

The survey of 510 Floridians by the UF/IFAS Center for Public Interest Education found a wide range of attitudes, perceptions and opinions about food security, food safety, and genetically modified foods. The respondents ranked food safety third out of 15 topics, with 85 percent ranking it as extremely or highly important.

“They expect safe food and don’t want to have to distrust it,” said Doug Archer, associate dean of research for UF/IFAS.

The survey was the last this past year to take the public’s pulse on agriculture and natural resources. The PIE Center chose the topic of food safety and food security for its fourth survey and panel discussion because of the high interest in local food movements, food deserts, and feeding the world in 2050, said Joy Rumble, an assistant professor of agricultural communication.

“We focused on domestic food security rather than global,” Rumble said. “We really wanted to know how Floridians felt about their own food security.”

UF has earmarked $1.45 million toward food security, food safety and distribution systems as part of its plan to achieve Top 10 status among major public universities.

The perception among Floridians is that many children and adults go hungry every day in the U.S. Among the findings:

86 percent said they believed or strongly believed that some adults go hungry in the U.S., and 89 percent agreed or strongly agreed some U.S. citizens cannot afford a balanced diet.

89 percent said they believed that some children go hungry in the US, and 88 percent said some people can’t afford balanced meals for their children.

54 percent said they don’t think U.S. citizens have access to sufficient food, while 64 percent said Americans don’t have access to sufficient nutritious food.

68 percent said they don’t believe children have access to sufficient food, and 73 percent said children don’t have access to sufficient nutritious food.

“People are more worried about being able to afford food than (having safe and nutritious) food,” Rumble said.

The survey showed a sufficient gap between what the public perceives as safety issues and the facts, PIE Center Director Tracy Irani said.

“While there are some areas where there is correspondence between what consumers know and the actual facts, there are some significant gaps,” she said in a news release.

Nearly 50 percent of Floridians see growth hormones, additives and preservatives in their food posing a health risk, while only 40 percent see bacteria as a risk, even though evidence links bacteria to illness.

More Floridians also believed fresh produce was at least as safe as canned produce despite the evidence that more illnesses are related to fresh produce.

People also generally gave high marks to local (63 percent), organic (67 percent) and all-natural (66 percent) foods, Rumble said, while 94 percent said they worried about pesticide residue, and 91 percent worried about antibiotic residue. Pesticide residue, modified hormones and genetic modifications do not cause illness, Archer said.

Peoples’ interest in food safety peaks after an incident in which people become sick or die from tainted food such as salmonella and e.coli outbreaks, Archer said. Over time, that interest tends to wane, he said.

“It’s a shame that the public’s view of what’s a risk and not a risk is so far off,” Archer said. “It underscores the public’s lack of knowledge going on around them.”

The survey included a section on genetically modified foods because of the large amount of media coverage the subject was getting during the time the PIE Center was collecting data in October, Rumble said.

For example, 45 percent were at least moderately worried about genetically modified foods, while 44 percent were at least moderately worried about genetically engineered foods.

Another 45 percent said they worried that genetically modified foods present a greater risk for food allergies and food poisoning than non-modified foods, while almost half were unsure whether genetic modifications would hurt the environment.

Many — about 43 percent — said they were unsure about the advantages of genetic modification, while just less than half reported that they had bought genetically modified food.

A majority — 52 percent — said genetic engineering should be used to save citrus trees from greening and other diseases.

Kevin Folta, an associate professor and interim chairman of the horticultural sciences department at UF, said bad information is driving bad policy in Washington, D.C., and state legislatures.

“It’s really important as educators to take a bigger role and diffuse some of the bad information and promote good information to solve this problem,” Folta said during the PIE webinar.

Folta said transgenic foods have been extensively tested and are well understood, and that scientists have endorsed a unified statement that transgenic crops pose no more risk than conventionally bred crops. No human or animal has ever become sick eating genetically modified foods in the 17 years it has been available, Folta said.

One participant accused Folta of not being very objective, and even defensive. “I am defensive of science,” Folta said. “I’ve been doing this for 30 years and believe in science.”

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